Themed Garden or Landscape

Landscaping and gardening are excellent ways to spend time
outdoors, communing with nature and making your living space attractive. It’s
also an opportunity to release your creative potential and showcase your
talents for other people to enjoy. One way you can do this is by turning your
landscape into something special with a themed landscape. Many themed
landscapes have great historical significance. The possibilities for such a
landscape are endless and can be a rewarding experience.

History of Themed
Gardens

Themed gardens and landscapes are nothing new. Landscapes
and gardens go back to ancient times and often had themes, particularly in the
Japanese culture where gardening and landscape was held in high esteem. Japanese
gardens can be found in two primary forms. The first is a traditional garden
that made use of abstraction for the purpose of creating a highly stylized
presentation. The second is a rock garden, also known as a Zen garden, used
primarily for meditative purposes. The Japanese garden began life based on
Chinese gardens and landscapes, but by the time of the Edo period (1603 – 1868)
Japanese gardens had their own distinct personalities an aesthetics based upon
Japanese culture.

Rock gardens existed in North America before 1960, but it
was during the 1960s that the art of the rock garden began to really take hold.
While Chinese and Japanese rock gardens placed emphasis on the rock formations,
North American rock gardens made heavy use of what are called Alpine plants,
meaning plants that grow in the Alps or other mountain areas. There is wide
variety to choose from, some of which include Alpine asters, blue clematis,
bear grass, and the avalanche lily. These plants, along with other
combinations, became the focal point for aesthetics in North American rock
gardens.

A cottage garden is another theme that some gardeners find
appealing. A cottage garden is typically quaint and inviting. It’s the perfect
place to spend time on a warm day, slightly breeze. Cottage gardens came about
gradually over the last half millennium when British peasants began planting
gardens around their cottages. These
were hard-working people who had little time to spend gardening and needed
their gardens to be as functional and accessible as possible. These gardens
were composed primarily of fruit trees, vegetables, and herb plants with
various flowers thrown in for aesthetics. The emphasis was more on function
than beauty. Near the end of the eighteenth century the cottage garden became
popular and the emphasis shifted from functionality to aesthetics as colorful
flowers took more of a center stage.

Fragrance gardens have been around in varying forms for
centuries. Fragrance gardens are visually appealing and renowned for their
strong, relaxing scents, offering an ideal spot for aromatherapy getaways. Some
of the flowering plants and trees suitable for this type of garden include ginger
lilies, lilacs, magnolias, and
gardenias.

Moon gardens feature plants that bloom at night and reflect
beautifully under the light of the moon, thus its name. These plants include moon
flowers, night gladiolus, evening stock, and four o’ clocks. Moon gardens are
relaxing and a great way to enjoy a warm, breezy evening.

Deciding on a Theme

Decide where you want to take your garden plan accordingly.
You don’t have to stay with a historical approach when creating your own garden
and landscape. Consider using one or more of these garden types as a reference
for designing your own garden. Maybe you want to design a garden that draws
more from a regional or cultural point of reference. You may just want to start
from the ground up and create something you’ve never seen before. There are no
hard and fast rules about landscape design. Let your imagination run wild and
create something that will be a pleasure to look at for years to come.

Buy all your theme related plants to landscape with at Garden Delights Nursery. To your door delivery and state certified plants.